Which Character are You?

Do you ever get tired of showing up for church events? What about serving in the church? For too long I feel the church has stressed attendance and serving in the church as our sole Christian duties. While I believe both are important, they are but small pieces to the puzzle. When we focus exclusively on them we miss out on so much. This entire month is about you and me entering His story. The story involves many different people on many different levels. If we all played the same character, things would get boring and stagnant real quick. I wonder if part of that has anything to do with the state of many churches today—too much focus on everyone doing something instead of each person pursuing God’s role for them.

I can speak to this easily this week. Some of you already know this, but last Monday my wife and I welcomed Aubrie Katelyn into this world. It was an unexpected arrival as March 17 was our due date. It began as a normal day. We both worked until 1:00 p.m. and then went to Amy’s doctor’s appointment. It was there we found out Amy was having contractions and were told to head straight to the hospital. We checked in at 4:00 and Aubrie was born at 8:05. Crazy couple of hours.

Not having any family closer than 8 hours away makes times like this difficult. We had to depend on our family of believers here in Nashville. One couple picked up our 3-year-old from school and kept her for two days while we were in the hospital. They brought her down to visit for a while and get to see her new sister. Another couple sat with us during the short wait that evening and even bought a camera for us to use since we didn’t pack one that morning. One friend from work provided lunch for me while I was staying with my wife in the hospital. Other friends at work answered e-mails and picked up my slack while I was gone. Others have bought gifts and enough food to help us for the next couple of weeks. It has been a blessing seeing different people serve in different ways. If everyone had served in the same way, other areas would have been neglected. We’re thankful that not everyone brought food, or new clothes for the baby. Everyone helped in their own way and that’s how it’s supposed to be.

So, as I study the lesson this week, that’s what I see. I see people serving from their heart. I also see people planning which nights to bring food. This has been no haphazard process. People took time to set things in motion. In the same way, Nehemiah felt the desire to help and then took the appropriate steps to begin action. We all need to be invested in the lives of those around us and constantly listening to God’s voice to know how and when to serve. The story is going on every moment. What will your next page look like?

Below are a few shameless proud daddy pictures. In keeping with our stepping into the story mode, I want to let you all in on my family’s new chapter. The big sister is Macie and the baby is Aubrie.